In rapid printers, in particular those intended to be connected to the output of a computer, the principal vehicle for the print is usually a paper band which unrolls and is inserted in a continuous manner into the printer. This solution allows the easy storage of the paper in the feed device and lends itself to an easy realization of a rapid method of insertion. On the other hand, it is evidently unsuitable for the manual insertion of a card when a main printing operation has been terminated, because the paper band lies permanently in the printing device.
In certain printers, the principal vehicle for the print consists of sheets or cards automatically inserted. It is then possible, after the ejection of a principal card, to effect manual insertion, but one loses then the advantages, recalled above, of continuous automatic insertion.